Dubai ruler opens temporary ‘Museum of the Future’ as part of World Government Summit

DUBAI: Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Friday opened a temporary “Museum of the Future” as part of the 2018 World Government Summit that is set to run between Feb. 11-13 in Dubai.
The museum offers visitors an interactive experience about the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and presents exhibitions on how it could impact different aspects of life in years to come.
The Dubai ruler was accompanied by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on the tour.
Sheikh Mohammed shared his vision for the future of the UAE, saying: “The Museum of the Future is a unique incubator for futuristic innovations and design… We are determined to make the UAE a major contributor to future development.
“The UAE government sets an example to the governments of the world in adopting technological advancements as a driver for development. AI is key when we speak about tackling future challenges,” he added.
The soon-to-be-opened permanent version of the museum will open its doors in 2019 and is currently still in the construction phase. It is set to be an incubator for futuristic innovations and design.

Zimbabwe devalues currency to tackle economic crisis

Zimbabwe adopted the dollar in 2009 but introduced a parallel system of bond notes that it pegged at 1:1 to the US currency

Updated 15 min 26 sec ago

Reuters

February 22, 2019 11:41

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HARARE: Zimbabwe’s central bank began trading a sharply discounted replacement currency on Friday, attempting to ease a cash crunch that has hobbled the economy and plunged millions deep into poverty.Zimbabwe adopted the dollar in 2009 but, as a chronic hard currency shortage worsened, introduced a parallel system of bond notes that it pegged at 1:1 to the US currency.Effectively reintroducing a national currency, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said on Wednesday it would carry out a “managed float” of the surrogate, which fetches far less than a dollar on the black market.The bond notes and electronic dollars, locked in individuals’ accounts for months due to a lack of cash, will be merged into a separate currency called RTGS — or real-time gross settlement — dollars, the central bank said.It sold US dollars to banks at 2.5 RTGS dollars on Friday morning, Bank Governor John Mangudya told business leaders.Commercial banks reopened on Friday after a bank holiday, but with exchange facilities from bond notes to US dollars at the same 2.5 rate limited to individual and corporate holders of foreign currency accounts, queues outside appeared to be no longer than usual.Other members of the public should, in theory, be able to go to banks on Monday and buy US dollars with bond notes or electronic dollars.But it is not clear how many US dollars the central bank, which only has enough foreign exchange for two weeks of imports, has sold to banks.The bond notes and notional electronic funds have plummeted on Zimbabwe’s black market in recent months to around 4 per dollar.Many foreign traders have stopped accepting bond notes as legal tender, leaving businesses such as millers, brewers and miners hamstrung.Economists cautiously welcomed the central bank’s decision to allow its currency to devalue.The RBZ hopes its new measures will temper demand for dollars on the black market and ease inflation as the new currency settles at fair value.